Muculoskeletal Pain

ACUTE PAIN

Far and away the most common cause of both acute and chronic pain is tightness (or spasm) somewhere in the musculoskeletal system. The medical term for this is SOMATIC DYSFUNCTION. When somatic dysfunctions occur, specific muscles spasm and the nerves controlling those muscles “turn up” in sensitivity, causing localized pain. This process can occur abruptly, or sometimes over several days. With activity, minor somatic dysfunctions such as low back ache often resolve on their own, within a few days. However, when the pain is elevated and constant, medical treatments such pain medication and/or muscle relaxant may be necessary to break the pain/spasm cycle.

Yet sometimes the restrictions (somatic dysfunctions) are too intense or too deep to respond to regular medical treatment. Even physical therapy may not help. This is when an acute problem can become chronic.

CHRONIC PAIN

Chronic pain (pain lasting greater than 3 months) is one of the most common and most expensive medical problems seen in this country today. It is also a common source of over-prescription of narcotic medications. Pain may arise from organ malfunction (such as gallstones, angina, diverticulitis, etc.) but most is due to muscle restrictions (low back pain, neck pain, headaches, etc.).The vast majority of these problems are due to somatic dysfunctions. Even some problems such as migraine headaches, arthritic pain, hiatal hernias, or herniated discs have a somatic dysfunction component preventing the body from self -healing.

When musculoskeletal problems become chronic, something very interesting happens; the nervous system “readjusts” to accept the muscle tightness as “normal”. To adequately diagnose and treat these problems, we must really address both the muscle tightness and the nerves controlling them.

Also, when these musculoskeletal problems become chronic, the body often compensates for these tight areas by tightening the surrounding tissues or even distant tissues.

A HANDS- ON APPROACH

Osteopathic Diagnosis and Treatment is a highly effective method for identifying and treating acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain problems. Even organ problems may benefit from identifying muscle or connective tissue restrictions in or around the organs. Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment uses various “hands on” techniques to release the spasms, relax the nervous system, and restore normal motion.